Starting the GR21 – The walk

Preparing to leave Paris

After finishing a crazy week of a wedding (честитаomin јована!) And see tons of family, I am finally prepared for the GR21! I had a lot of fun with my family, but a wedding logistics can always be a bit stressful. The group of us that we fly had an extremely limited understanding of French, which made it difficult to meet the boyfriend’s family, but we did it!

Once we returned to Paris, I, along with my mother and my brothers, went to Versailles for the day. Super great, although very full for those who could be in hiking. After that, we returned to Paris and I was shopping. I love to find hiking foods in countries where I have never walked because 1) I have an allergy to nuts, which generally makes it a crazy puzzle to find a good light protein and, in general, calorically dense energy sources 2) All distributors are different, so sometimes the hiking diet is simply completely different from the states. I ended up buying some meals of bags and apples for family food, but then I also bought these small bites of cured meat. They are certainly interesting in flavor, but they are really salty, which I hope they help with electrolytic balance and look like a great source of proteins that I can transport without refrigeration.

The packaging made me realize that I could have bought too much food for my trip. The GR21 passes through many small villages and even cities, so it planned to stop for a meal/drink at least once a day to load my phone/drums and plan the rest of the day. So I could well stay with extra food at the end of the path. Fortunately, I will move to a path after this, so I can take it! (Thinking about having to eat all the cured meat bites, because I have no idea if I can bring them to the United Kingdom on a flight …)

Leaving

I plan to walk the GR21 from east to west. That means that I will stop at Le Torport to find the eastern terminal and start my walk. I am definitely feeling my nerves, but for a more introverted person like me, the difficulty of simply walking, camping and cooking dinners in bags is much less stressful than knowing a swarm of people for the first time and not being able to talk to them. I would certainly not say that I go to bed at the camp of the extremely introverted, I lean that way. So talking to one or two people at once really feels good, but a crowd always drains me. Therefore, no matter how much a wedding is fun, exciting and comfortable in terms of the comforts provided, I am very excited to get on the road and finally relax. (I definitely believe there will be some who agree, but many of those who will not agree that the time is ‘relaxing’)

There is a poem called Rabbitbrush by Molly McCully Brown (which you must read absolutely) that says: «You should be afraid / be so unprepared: Heardless / Human.» It has been one of my favorite poems for a while. All the path paths of humans without listeners through the planet ought Feel scared. But the most beautiful thing is that when we overcome that we build heards on tram trails, or stumble upon hiking members, or exchange stories with others in a cabin or in a city cafeteria. It is possible that you have not passed walks before, but I have been on many trips and backpack walks where I have joined or helped to make a transitory listening that goes through nature, to our next adventure. A cycle of not being heard and finding an ear to build the richness of the connection in our lives. I am excited once again to stay without listening and find one listening once, and again, and again.

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